As India expanded its coronavirus vaccination programme on Monday beyond healthcare and front-line workers, complaints poured in from beneficiaries who claimed that they were not able to register for inoculation through the government’s Co-WIN portal used to coordinate the drive.

The health ministry issued a clarification saying, “Registration and booking for appointment for Covid vaccination is done through CoWIN portal cowin.gov.in. There is no CoWin App for beneficiary registration. The app on Play Store is for administrators only.”

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In the second phase, people above 60 years of age, and those who are 45 or more and suffering from comorbidities, are now eligible for the vaccinations. This is free at government facilities, while private centres are offering it at a capped price of Rs 250 per dose.

Citizens can register and book an appointment for vaccination, anytime and anywhere, using the Co-WIN portal or through other applications such as Aarogya Setu, according to a guidance document issued by the health ministry. The eligible beneficiaries can also choose the centre of their choice and book an appointment based on the slots available.

Beneficiaries are also allowed to register at the Co-WIN portal through their mobile number. A one time password or OTP verification will be done prior to registration to ensure veracity of the mobile number and after registration, an account will be created on the government portal for the person.

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However, many social media users pointed out that they were unable to get an OTP to begin the registration.

Two days before the second phase, the government had put on hold the coronavirus vaccination process for upgrading the software Co-WIN. “Co-WIN digital platform will be transitioning from Co-WIN1.0 to Co-WIN 2.0,” it said in a statement.

India, which has reported the highest number of coronavirus cases after the United States, kickstarted the vaccination drive on January 16.